Best Boiled Ham and Cabbage
"There's nothing like a steaming pot of boiled ham and cabbage on a cold evening. The hearty, homey flavor makes for such a perfect comfort food that your family will never notice that all those veggies are good for them. The nutritional information is going to be off because the veggie amounts are sized for 6-8 servings, but the ham will leave you with plenty of leftovers to use in the many wonderful dishes that call for ham. Use any, all, or none of the optional veggies according to availability and personal taste."
- Ready In:
- 2hrs 15mins
- Ingredients:
- 12
- Serves:
-
6-8
ingredients
- 8 -12 lbs half ham or 8 -12 lbs smoked pork shoulder
- 6 -8 small onions, peeled
- 6 -8 small red potatoes, scrubbed
- 6 -8 carrots, peeled and cut in chunks
- 2 -3 parsnips, peeled and cut in chunks (optional)
- 1 -2 celeriac, bulbs peeled and cut in chunks (optional)
- 1 -2 turnips (optional) or 1 -2 rutabaga, peeled and cut in chunks (optional)
- 1 medium cabbage, cut in 6-8 wedges
- 12 -15 whole cloves
- fresh ground black pepper
- butter (optional)
- cold water
directions
- Remove the ham from its wrappings. Cut off the skin and make sure you remove the plastic thing that covers the end of the bone.
- Stud the ham with the whole cloves, distributing them evenly over the surface.
- Put ham and onions into a very large pot and cover with COLD water. Its important to use cold water because it draws the excess salt out of the meat and makes a more flavorful broth.
- Bring to a boil slowly over medium heat. Reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes.
- Add all the veggies except the cabbage. Raise heat and bring to a boil again. Reduce heat and simmer another 15 minutes or until the largest potatoes are nearly cooked.
- Add the cabbage wedges. Raise heat and bring to a boil. Simmer another 10-20 minutes until cabbage is cooked but not mushy.
- Use a large, slotted, serving spoon to remove all the veggies to a large serving dish.
- Lift ham onto a platter and carve off a suitable number of servings for the meal.
- Serve each person a slice of ham and a portion of each vegetable. Grind black pepper over the plate and offer butter for the potatoes and other roots if desired.
Questions & Replies
-
I was surprised salt was added to the meal. Isn't ham salty enough? I would only add it when I cooked the potatoes
Reviews
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Very tasty. I loved this recipe. The cabbage was done just right. Thanks so much for posting. -
The ham came out perfect! Not too salty. The cold water with the onions is a great tip. I loved removing the fatty skin and adding the cloves. Smells delicious while it's cooking. I'm adding this to my go to recipes for ham. Thank you for sharing -
This is a very good recipe, the only thing I did different was, I waited till the ham boiled for 30 minutes then added the veggies. I also added pickling spice to the water, I have always done this, it makes a world of difference in flavor of the broth. -
This was a very good recipe. Just a few suggestions: leave plenty of time for the water to boil if you are using a large stock pot since the water is very cold and bringing it to a boil from medium heat takes quite awhile. My vegetables ended up being a bit mushy due to over cooking so timing is important. Second, this could use some seasonings. Next time I will try some dill weed or seasoned salt. I had leftover ham from Easter so I cut it into chunks along with the ham bone and did not use the cloves. Maybe that would have added the seasoning it seemed to lack. I did love all the veggies together and used all of them. The carrots were particularly good. Thanks, Joe. I will definitely use this recipe again. -
Everything worked out great! I would have cooked the ham for 3 or more hours, whew. Good thing for Recipe Zaar and generous people like you! A little dijon mustard with horse raddish makes this dish great. Thank you! Joe
RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
3KillerBs
Pinebluff, North Carolina
